That our Barrel of Meal and Our Cruse of Oil Fail Not

That our Barrel of Meal and

 Our Cruse of Oil Fail Not

I had a blessing given me and in it I was promised, "I bless you that you will never, ever be in need of food or clothing, for the angels of heaven will take care of you even as they did Elijah. "

This blessing prompted me to research and seek out the story of Elijah.  In my searching, I came across the conference address by Elder Burton called  "The Power of Elijah." April 1974  I felt that several things that he said pertain specifically to the last days and teach us where we should work to have our hearts and minds.

"A famine came in the land when Elijah, as commanded of God, sealed the heavens shut that it did not rain. During this famine, he was miraculously fed by ravens at the brook Cherith, which flowed intothe Jordan River." 

"Then God sent Elijah to the city of Zarephath and told him he had appointed a widow there who would feed him. Elijah met this widow at the outskirts of the city and asked her to give him food to eat. "

“And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son,that we may eat it, and die.” (1 Kgs. 17:12.) 

"Elijah then promised her in the name of the Lord that if she would feed him, she would never lack for food. I have pondered on the faith of that woman, who, on the promise of a humble man of God, put her life andthe life of her son in the balance. Obediently she baked food and fed Elijah, and then followed the miracle of the fulfillment of the prophet’s promise: “And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.” (1 Kgs.17:16.)

Do we have faith as the widow, to share of our scanty portion?  

Do we believe that we can miraculously be fed even as Elijah?

I am not advocating that everyone give all that they have to the poor and then wait for the Lord to take care of them and their families.  As stewards we should be wise, but we should also be generous and have faith than in our generosity that our needs (not necessarily our wants) will be provided for.

I believe that in the days to come this story will be literally tested in our families, and thus it is important to determine where our hearts lie.

"[Prophets] have told us to keep at least a year’s supply of food on hand for any future emergency.We have only their word of prophecy to rely on, just as the widow relied on that of Elijah. We should obey as she did. By so doing, we will be able to save ourselves and our families from want. "

"Some members of the Church have said to me, “Why should we keep a store of food on hand? If a real emergency came in this lawless world, a neighbor would simply come with his gun and take it from us. What would you do if a person came and demanded your food?” I replied that Iwould share whatever I had with him, and he wouldn’t have to use a gun to obtain that assistance either." 

“I wouldn’t,” replied one man. “I have a gun, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it to defend my family. Anyone would have to kill me first in order to get food away from me! After all, they bring their own misery on themselves by not being prepared!” 

"Well, one way to solve this problem is to convert your neighbors to become obedient Latter-day Saints with their own supply of food!  If every family were provided for, our stores would be safe for the use of our families. But not all people have sufficient faith to share with others as did the widow who shared with Elijah. I remember the words of another prophet who loved the poor and the unfortunate. He said:" 

“And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth inneed; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to youin vain, and turn him out to perish. 

“Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery;therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, norimpart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for hispunishments are just— 

“But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath greatcause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done heperisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God 

“For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the sameBeing, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food andraiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we haveof every kind?” (Mosiah 4:16–19.) 

"I sincerely believe if we do everything in our power to be obedient to the will of God, we and our families will never lack. If we are obedient as true followers of Christ and share what we have with those less fortunate than we, the Lord will keep his promise to watch over us and care for us. I will then be glad that I have stores of food on hand so I can be of assistance to others. Perhaps like the widow who fed Elijah, the meal will then never fail in our barrels nor the oil ever fail in our cruses until prosperity comes again."

There will come a time when our stores of food will not be enough on their own to feed our family and our neighbors.  What will we do in that moment?

Will we have faith in miracles and share what we have, remembering this parable and the parable of the loaves and the fishes, or will we hold back in order to protect our own?

The Lord has promised that if we do everything in our power to be obedient to His will, that our families will never lack. 

When tragedy first hit our family almost 2 years ago with the death of my husband, I became very protective of the financial means that was left to support us.  I worried and fretted that it would not be enough to last.  What if the markets did poorly?  What if I couldn't sell the house? Numerous things happened to teach me that material things do not matter, and that the Lord would provide for me. 

Two years later, our house has still not sold.  I have had to have faith and trust in the Lord to take care of us.  I have seen that happen again and again.  The mulch pile that always ran out mid-July has miraculously lasted two entire summers.  As I have lived fugally financial miracles have allowed me to continue to maintain my home until it sells.  Emotionally, physically and spiritually, our needs have been met.  I know that we are devoting our time and means to the Lord's work that the barrel of meal and the crust of oil does not fail and that spiritual blessing runneth over.

I invite you to join me in pondering these things and examining our hearts. I am asking the Lord in prayer to show me ways that I can be more aligned with God's will in this matter, not only now, but in decisions I will make in the future.  When that time comes, I want my faith to be powerful enough that through it, the miracles of Elijah will come for me and for those who I need to care for.

Please comment and share experiences that have helped you to have faith in this principle.

-Veronica

Here are my blogpost show how I was taught this principle.

Giving up My Plan and Learning to be Content with God's Plan Nov 2013

Getting my Heart completely in the Right Place and Trying to Fix my Mistake